DFA to open 300,000 more passport appointment slots before year end

INQUIRER.NET FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) plans to open at least 300,000 additional passport appointment slots nationwide before 2022 ends.

“We have opened more than 803,000 passport appointment slots and we plan to open at least 300,000 more this year or before the end of the year,” DFA Secretary Enrique Manalo said in a speech on Wednesday.

“We continue to finetune the online appointment system and our policies to make the passport and authentication application experience more convenient and user-friendly for the Filipino people and the public,” he said.

Manalo made his speech at the DFA Office of Consular Affairs in Aseana City in Parañaque to attend a ribbon-cutting to mark the installation and repair of elevators and escalators.

Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Henry Bensurto Jr., who was also at the ceremony, said: “As part of our commitment to improve our services to the public, we have also made sure that consular services are physically convenient and very accessible to clients, especially for the senior citizens, persons with disabilities, and pregnant applicants.

“Our definition of public service is not mediocrity. The service that we aim for is one that is efficient, comfortable to our clients, and elegant. It is not true that if you are in government, you have to be dirty… Government means excellent service and that is what we try to do.”

In March, the DFA opened a courtesy lane in its consular offices, following a “great demand,” for eligible walk-in passport applicants.

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